Maria Violante Placido (; born 1 May 1976) is an Italian actress and singer.

Early life

Placido was born in Rome, Italy. She is the daughter of actor-director

Michele Placido Michele Placido (; born 19 May 1946) is an Italian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He began his career on stage, and first gained mainstream attention through a series of roles in films directed by the likes of Mario Monicelli and Marco ...

and actress Simonetta Stefanelli.

Career

Film

Her film debut was alongside her father in '' Quattro bravi ragazzi'' (1993), and later took part in ''

Jack Frusciante Left the Band ''Jack Frusciante Left the Band'' ( it, Jack Frusciante è uscito dal gruppo) is a 1996 Italian teen drama film directed by Enza Negroni. It is based on Enrico Brizzi's bestseller ''Jack Frusciante Has Left the Band''. Cast * Stefano Accors ...

''. Her first important role was in '' L'anima gemella'', directed by

Sergio Rubini Sergio Rubini (born 21 December 1959) is an Italian actor, film director and screenwriter. Life and career Rubini was born in Grumo Appula, Apulia, but soon moved to Rome to study acting. After some roles in theater, he debuted in a feature ...

. Placido's other movies include '' Ora o mai più'', by Lucio Pellegrini, ''Che ne sarà di noi'', by

Giovanni Veronesi Giovanni Veronesi (born 1962) is an Italian film screenwriter, actor and director. Born in Prato, he is the brother of the writer Sandro Veronesi. He started his career writing scripts for directors such as Francesco Nuti, Leonardo Pieraccio ...

, and ''

Ovunque sei ''Ovunque sei'' is a 2004 Italian romance-drama film directed by Michele Placido. It entered the competition at the 61st Venice International Film Festival, where it was booed by the audience and received bad reviews. It won the Nastro d'Argento ...

'', directed by her father. In 2006, she starred in

Pupi Avati Giuseppe Avati, better known as Pupi Avati (born 3 November 1938), is an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known to horror film fans for his two giallo masterpieces, ''The House with Laughing Windows'' (1976) and '' Zeder ...

's comedy '' La cena per farli conoscere'', released in 2007. In March 2009, she played a role in the

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

movie '' Barah Aana''. She also played the title role as

Moana Pozzi Anna Moana Rosa Pozzi (; 27 April 1961 – 15 September 1994), also known mononymously as Moana, was an Italian pornographic actress, television personality and politician. Early life Pozzi was born in Genoa, Liguria, Italy, the daughter of Alf ...

in the 2009 miniseries ''Moana''. In 2010, she appeared alongside George Clooney in the drama-thriller '' The American''. Placido played Nadya in the 2011 film '' Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance'', a sequel to the 2007 film ''

Ghost Rider Ghost Rider is the name of multiple antiheroes and superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider. The first s ...

'', both based on the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

character of the same name.

TV

She co-stars in '' Transporter: The Series'', a spin-off from the film franchise of the same name. The TV series stars Chris Vance taking over the role of Frank Martin from

Jason Statham Jason Statham (; born 26 July 1967) is an English actor. He is known for portraying characters in various action-thriller films who are typically tough, hardboiled, gritty, or violent. Statham began practising Chinese martial arts, kickbox ...

. In season two, she plays Caterina Boldieu, a former French intelligence officer, who is assisting Frank Martin, the Transporter.

Music

In 2006, Placido released, under the name Viola, her first album as a singer, ''"Don't Be Shy..."'', including 10 tracks she wrote (most of which are in English), inspired by

Stuart Benson Stuart Benson (born 12 February 1981) is a former bobsledder who competed for Team GB, and an avionics technician in the Royal Air Force. His competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi in the four-man bobsleigh, competing with John James ...

. Viola sings in the style of singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega. The second single is "''How to Save Your Life''". Subsequently, she collaborated with the Italian singer-songwriter

Bugo Cristian Bugatti, also known as Bugo (born 2 August 1973 in Rho (MI), Italy) is an Italian singer-songwriter, artist and actor. He spent his youth in the rice fields of Cerano, in the Province of Novara in the Piedmont region. A self-taught arti ...

in the remake duet version of his song "''Amore mio infinito''".

Filmography

Film

Television

Personal life

Violante Placido has one child. The father is her partner, Massimiliano D'Epiro, who is an Italian film director.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Placido, Violante 1976 births Living people 20th-century Italian actresses 21st-century Italian actresses 21st-century Italian singers 21st-century Italian women singers Actresses from Rome Italian film actresses